Eat, drink and be very merry

The Central Otago harvest is just around the corner and to celebrate, the Gibbston community (the award-winning Gibbston community, no less) are putting on their annual festival, this year at Waitiri Creek.

I’ve attended every festival so far and have always enjoyed the chance to catch up with friends, keep up to date with new releases and taste the wonderful array of food.

It’s been a great success story and a worthy replacement for the old Queenstown Wine Festival which garnered lots of criticism for its cost. With tickets at $15 – and sensibly priced wine and food – it’s great value.

Look out for my team from Queenstown Resort College who’ll be slicing, saucing and serving some delights at our food stall along with several other local restaurants.

And if you’re going to taste a wine or two, try out as many 100 per cent Gibbston-grown wines as you can – they’re getting rarer and are well worth seeking out.

Paul Tudgay is the Queens­town Resort College business hospitality manager and a wine appreciation lecturer
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